TWINE Jack Galmitz Twine. Damned twine. It must have gotten wet at some time.

I couldnt untie the knot it had taken. I wanted to use it to hang a painting I had finished and now the edges we e f a!ing. I wasnt su e if it would "e long enough. Id "een at it so long that sweat was d ipping on the ta"le I was wo king at. # om m! chin. Even f om m! el"ows. It was made f om $ute% a st ong fi"e % and it clung togethe no matte what method I used to sepa ate it. It made me itch whe e small pa ticles " oke off and stuck to m! wet skin. It eminded me of wool. It could "e soft if !ou st oked it on a sheep% "ut once shee ed and st etched into th eads and woven% it could cut into !ou skin at an! moment like an insects teeth. I was "eginning to feel itch! a ound m! neck. Not the kind of itch !ou want to sc atch% the kind !ou know d aws "lood if !ou do. Just the painful kind that comes f om an im"edded sha p& edged mate ial. I emem"e ed a time when I was a"out eight !ea s old and had to wea a tie fo audito ium in school. '! mothe chose a woolen tie

that I hated. I told he I didnt want to wea it. (he hit me in the face. 'o e than once. I emem"e it was an e)pensive tie% "ut I cant ecall if she "ought it o it was a gift. I liked the patte n and the wa! it knotted. *ut I c ied to he that it itched me all da! a ound m! neck. I swo e when I was olde % I would neve "u! woolen clothing. *esides% the t auma of "eing hit like that neve left me and f om then on was associated with wool& and now twine. +s I continued to t ! to un avel the knots ,I failed to mention that the twine had "een tied a num"e of times-% a fond memo ! of a fo) of a woman% ed&hai ed% too% etu ned. We we e having an affai & I was a g aduate student at a school whe e he hus"and was on the facult! of the math depa tment& and we e going to To onto to spend a weekend. (he didnt want me wea ing m! usual dunga ees and lum"e shi ts% so she wanted to "u! me pants. When she mentioned wool& it "eing winte & I told he I couldnt wea wool. (he was a clothes designe and ecommended ga"a dine% which she said didnt itch o sc atch. It tu ned out she was ight. I thought if I hadnt ecentl! cut m! nails pe haps I wouldnt "e having so much t ou"le with the knots. Then% I thought m! nails would have " oken against the tension infused

in the t!ing of the th eads. I had thus fa t ied to unloosen the top knot with va ious thicknesses of needles. +s sha p as the points we e I couldnt get them "etween the two lengths of twine. I pushed one thick needle th ough towa ds whe e the! $oined and with one hand at each end pulled up on the needle. The coils didnt "udge. I needed something st onge and heavie . I t ied a tweeze % thinking it would g asp the line and allow it to lift out of its confines. .oweve % this p oved as futile as the needles. #inall!% out of despe ation% I snipped the edge of the p ot uding twine and t ied to push it out with a phillips sc ew ive . /nfo tunatel!% all that happened was that the end of the twine c ushed and f a!ed a "it mo e. I took a " eak to d ! m! face off. I put on some music to help ela) me as I wo ked the p o"lem out. +fte t !ing to pull on the e)tended loops of the "ound twine themselves without thei "udging% I gave up. I thought of th owing out the twine% as I had developed a pe sonal antipath! towa ds it. Then% an idea occu ed to me. I took the twine as it was to a sto e in the neigh"o hood that made t ophies and laminated things such as diplomas. I asked them if the! could make a " onze cast of the twine. The! said the! could. I also wanted it mounted

on end on a ma "le "ase% which the! said the! could accommodate me with. #inall!% I wanted a small metal pla0ue on the ma "le to ead 1The /ndisputed2 and m! name "eneath it. This was no p o"lem. The! told me the! would have to send it to one of thei vendo s fo the casting% so it would take a few weeks. I ag eed. Now% instead of the twine suppo ting a wo k of a t% it would "e a wo k of a t itself% especiall! as it would stand at an impossi"le angle on its loops. +nd% most impo tantl!% it would "e m! fi st ead!&made. I was pleased. I thought it would like good on m! desk and "ecome a conve sation piece should I have compan!.